Altered levels of seminal nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase, and enzymatic antioxidants and their association with sperm function in infertile subjects  T Ramya, M.Sc., Man Mohan Misro, Ph.D., Devabrata Sinha, M.B., B.S., Deoki Nandan, M.D., Sandeep Mithal, M.S.  Fertility and Sterility  Volume 95, Issue 1, Pages 135-140 (January 2011) DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.044 Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Evaluation of sperm function test scores. There was no significant decline in sperm viability (A), hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) (B), acrosomal status (AS) (C), and nuclear chromatin decondensation (NCD) (D) in normospermic (N) compared with proven-fertile (PF) subjects. However, in other infertile subjects (IF) the decrease was significant. The exception is leukocytospermia with good motility (L), in which the viability score was unaltered. A = asthenospermia (normal sperm count with less motility); O = oligospermia with good motility; OA = oligospermia with poor motility; LA = leukocytospermia with poor motility; T = teratospermia. aP<.05; bP<.01; cP<.001. Fertility and Sterility 2011 95, 135-140DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.044) Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 2 Levels of (A) total NO and activities of (B) NOS, (C) SOD, and (D) catalase in the semen. The NO in seminal plasma was directly proportional to NOS in sperm. Significantly high NO and NOS activity were observed in asthenospermia (A) and leukocytoasthenospermia (LA). On the other hand, oligoasthenospermia (OA) demonstrated a significant decrease in NO and NOS levels. With the exception of normospermia (N), antioxidant enzyme activities showed a decreasing trend in most of the infertile (IF) subjects when compared with proven-fertile (PF) controls. O = oligospermia with good motility; L = leukocytospermia with good motility; T = teratospermia. aP<.05; bP<.01; cP<.001. Fertility and Sterility 2011 95, 135-140DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.044) Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 3 Correlation analysis between seminal plasma NO concentration and sperm function score percentage. A significant positive correlation was observed in proven fertile subjects, whereas normospermia, teratospermia, and asthenospermia demonstrated a negative correlation. HOS = hypo-osmotic swelling; NCD = nuclear chromatin decondensation; AS = acrosomal status. Fertility and Sterility 2011 95, 135-140DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.044) Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 4 Correlation analysis between seminal plasma NO levels and sperm function score percentage. The correlation was positive in oligoasthenospermia and oligospermia and was significantly negative in leukocytoasthenospermia and leukocytospermia. HOS = hypo-osmotic swelling; NCD = nuclear chromatin decondensation; AS = acrosomal status. Fertility and Sterility 2011 95, 135-140DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.044) Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions